The present invention relates generally to supply network optimization and, more specifically, to a two-phase approach to optimize a supply network for fulfilling an order.
Omni-channel retailers employ a number of options or channels to fulfil commerce orders including electronic commerce (“e-commerce”) orders. The channels, also referred to as fulfillment nodes, can include stores and e-commerce fulfillment centers, for example. A mixed-integer programming model is often used in order to find optimal solutions for fulfilling orders by using optimization techniques. However, as the retailer grows, the number of fulfillment nodes increases and complexity of an optimization model increases exponentially, requiring increased processing power and lengthening times necessary to determine how to fulfill an order.